Zev on Amazing Race
Posted by Troy | Filed under Autism, Parenting, TV
Individuals on the Autism Spectrum have never had a voice in the media.
Of course there’s Rain Man (everyone’s first reply when I say “my son has Autism”)…
And the occasional savant on 60 Minutes or something… (which of course results in everyone’s second reply “so is he super good at math or the piano or something?”)
And that is about it.
There’s never been occasion in media where a character with Autism was actually a person… you know what I mean?
That is why I consider this season’s Amazing Race to be groundbreaking…
Because Zev Glassenberg is someone to watch.
As far as I can tell he is the first person ever in popular media to represent individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
While watching this weeks episode…
I chuckled knowingly when he’s concerned about getting his shoes wet while traveling through knee-deep floods in Vietnam…
and I felt so proud… like he was my own son… when he masterfully shepherded a flock of ducks during one competition…
and gave his jacket to a man who had none…
and my heart cheered when his team came in 2nd at the finish line for that leg of the race…
But the thing that really gets me emotional…
is that he’s got a friend.
a real friend.
Because I know I’m in for a lot of heartbreak over the next decade as I try to watch my son relate to his peers… and none of them will really understand him.
But seeing Zev with his buddy Justin gives me hope… just a little hope… that someday my boy can have a friend that understands him and appreciates him the way I do…
a friend who loves his sense of humor and is humbled by his unselfish spirit and touched by his sweet personality and…..
You can follow Zev and Justin on the race via their webpage (which is mostly twitter status updates of funny stuff Zev says on the show)
Tags: amazing race, aspergers, Autism, tv
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Posted by Troy | Filed under Film
I love Wes Anderson.
I love stop-motion animation.
I love Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
I’m guessing I’m probably going to like this movie.
Return of Looney Tunes Tees
Posted by Troy | Filed under Art/Design, Culture, Fashion, Humor
Looney Tunes has collaborated with fashion T-shirt designer Johnny Cupcakes to release these limited edition shirts.
Looney Tunes back en vogue??
I’ve been saving a purple Wile E. Coyote shirt (
ca. 1991) just for this occasion. Now if only I can find some red Arizona jeans and I’ll be able to recreate the entire ensemble.
Tags: Fashion, looney tunes, t-shirts
Chris Koelle Illustration
Posted by Troy | Filed under Art/Design
About a year ago I was introduced to Chris Koelle’s work through mutual friend Aaron “Ernie” Greene.
He showed me the animated short film Men in Black (not the Will Smith one) that Chris had done the drawings for… I thought it was sweet and even used it as inspiration for a promotional video I did for the camp where I worked at the time.
Chris has continued to impress and inspire me and at least two books he’s illustrated sit on my shelf (Job and Death by Love).
Despite the religious titles, his depth of talent will assure he won’t be pigeonholed into the realm of Christian bookstores…
Right now he told me he’s working on a couple books, including a graphic novel (unfortunately he couldn’t share any images yet), and he seems to be really excited about his poster being included in the ARTCRANK poster show…
Besides that, he and his wife Annie (a pretty fantastic artist herself and one of my favorite Design by Humans contributors) always seem to have a fury of projects happening:
- Annie’s piece in the Wild Things exhibit Terrible Yellow Eyes
- featured seller on Poppytalk this month
- Their Etsy shop (and Chris’s Bicycle Art Etsy shop)
- And of course keeping us all up-to-date on their joint efforts on the Koelle Art blog.
It is pretty cool to see a couple with such strong shared interests who can work together and challenge each other to get better and better…
These two are destined for some big stuff man… it’ll be fun to watch.
Accidentally True Story
Posted by Troy | Filed under Art/Design, Faith, Film
Walked out to the forest, plugged in my headphones to some Neko Case and started writing a story about a girl named Nadya and her family.
I used some historical facts and stories as a basis, but for the most part I was just making stuff up…
Tags: video
Monsters of Folk
Posted by Troy | Filed under Music
90’s Alternative and 60’s Folk Rock have been in a long grudge match for the title of My Favorite Genre.
Of course over the past few years, Lo-Fi Indie has come up strong like Rocky Balboa through the ranks of the heavy-hitters…
Enter Monsters of Folk.
What the heck can I say about these guys that everyone else isn’t already saying?
It’s the Dream Team of modern classic rock. These dudes aren’t only bringing together their individually mad music skillz, but outta sight songwriting to boot… mix it all together and its like Jordan, Magic, Bird and Barkley all together again…
The spirituality scattered throughout the record reminds me of a pre-conversion Dylan album… just the right amount of allusion without really saying anything overtly religious…
The made up title “Monsters of Folk” might be a little off-putting because it is just so cocky… but dang it man… they’re right… these guys are in a whole nother class.
Christian Cussing
Posted by Troy | Filed under Culture, Faith
Illustration by Troy DeShano
I noticed some high-profile evangelical writings on Christian swearing recently.
Apparently someone over at Patrol Magazine noticed too, and I found their retort well versed and thought-provoking.
I’m much more likely to keep my expletives bottled up inside… but I really appreciated Patrol’s emphasis on how often the loudest Christian voices “miss the point” when it comes to discerning societal mores from faith-based morality.
to imply that most Christians who swear do so out of lapsed scruples, and can be pricked back into conscientiousness with a quick devotional from their favorite journal of “progressive culture,” is to profoundly misunderstand the change that has prompted so many of them to dismiss the petty social preoccupations of their forbearers.
Don’t get me wrong… the complex relationship of cultural standards and true morality is head-spinning to say the least… but recognizing both spheres seems to me to be something worth considering.
Tags: original illustration
Churchill the Band
Posted by Troy | Filed under Music
My friend Mike Morter left Michigan for Denver last year to start up a band with some of his college buddies.
Why Denver? I have no idea…
Honestly I was a little fearful that Mike was “too good” for a band, but the stuff they are starting to put out as Churchill isn’t too shabby and in particular the song “I Still Remember” is just plain fantastic.
In fact, I’ve got it stuck in my head now and I don’t mind at all.
They recently placed 16th in an online competition for a chance to play at the Austin City Limits music festival.
If you don’t know… this is a really big deal.
The coolest part of that competition is that after fan voting placed them in the top 100, a panel of industry judges selected Churchill as one of the top 20 artists.
Pretty decent compliment I think.
Unfortunately at that point it went back to fan voting and Churchill didn’t stand a chance against the bands that have been around long enough to have thousands of Myspace friends from which to garner votes.
I’m quite certain these guys would have placed higher if it had been a panel selection rather than a popularity contest.
Most their stuff so far isn’t life-changing… yet…
but keep an eye on them… if “I Still Remember” shows any hint of their potential… they are going to get really, really good…
Here’s a great chance to be a snob… now you’ve heard them before anyone else you know.
Why I Hate Weddings
Posted by Troy | Filed under Culture, Humor, Marriage, Thoughts
I did some work for an old friend recently…
He is a cool wedding photographer based out of Cincinatti. The best part about his work is that you can tell everyone in every photo is having a blast.
Perusing his recent work got me thinking about weddings…
I don’t really enjoy attending weddings as a whole… but the absolute worst, most obnoxious tradition of all (besides the bachelor party of course) has got to be the garter-removal.
Who is the moron that made up this tradition and why does everyone insist on including this as part of their celebration…
Ugh.
Tags: illustration, original illustration
Cannonball Blast from the Past
Posted by Troy | Filed under Music
I hadn’t realized until my post the other day that Spike Jonze had co-directed the Breeders’ video for “Cannonball.”
I was obsessed with this song when it came out.
I still love it… how can’t you love it?
and how can’t you love this awesome clip from 120 minutes? Remember 120 Minutes?
You’re welcome in advance for sticking this in your head for the rest of the day…
